Playing a Warrior

Related topics: New Player Guide, Playing a Mage, Playing an Archer, Character Templates

Why Play a Warrior

Warriors, generally called melees in game, are usually considered the easiest or simplest class to play. Combat is fast-paced but rather simple - with your available combat options being aiming high, medium, or low, with a slider bar to shift between speed and attack power. Melees are easy to play, only requiring basic supplies like potions and healing kits for long durations of combat. Melees are the only class allowed to use shields (with the exception of some weaker thrown weapons). Shields can greatly reduce physical damage taken - damage dealt with melee or missile weapons. In addition, there are special shields that offer little or no physical protection, but will greatly reduce magical damage taken. The simplicity of recovering health and stamina, along with the damage reduction of shields, give melees high survivabilty. This makes them ideal for new players who are inexperienced with the combat system.

Disadvantages

• Melees do not have ranged attacks. This makes some creatures that archers or mages can easily pick off from a distance very difficult for melees.
• Innate attributes are an issue for melees. Characters have enough innate attribute points to set 3 stats to 100 (max). All melee weapon skills (except dagger) are based off of strength and coordination. So melees will want 100 in both of those attributes. But melee defense is based on quickness and coordination. In addition, much of the game, especially at higher levels, requires high magic skills, meaning melees will want high focus. And to effectively absorb more damage, melees will want more endurance. Obviously, its not possible to start with 100 in 5 attributes, thus creating a challenge in deciding how to distribute your points and how you want to modify them later in life.
• Melees (as well as archers) cannot deal damage to multiple targets. Only mages have this ability.
• Melees generally do not deal as high damage as mages or archers, but attack faster.

Choosing a Weapon Skill

There are seven melee combat weapon skills. Three of these are innate heritage skills, four not. Here is a brief summary of the advantages and disadvantages of each skill.

Axes and hammers are heavy hitting melee weapons. Though the weapons do not do as much damage as swords, the skill is cheaper, costing 6 to train / 6 to specialize. Axe lacks a loot generated weapon capable of piercing damage, but has both slashing and bludgeoning weapons. Axe has a fair amount of quest weapons at all stages of play.

Daggers are quick and light weapons. Dagger's damage capabilities are among the lowest of all the melee weapons. However, the skill is one of the cheapest to acquire. Dagger is the free heritage weapon for Aluvians, costing them no credits to train and 4 to specialize. Other heritages must pay 4 credits to train it. Dagger is unique among melee weapons- Dagger's formula is (quick + coord)/3, where all others are (strength + coord)/3. This means dagger users do not need to invest any starting attribute points into their strength. Dagger has access to slashing and piercing damage at full power. Dagger has a fair amount of quest weapons at all stages of play. Dagger makes a good secondary weapon for Aluvians, especially archers and mages.

Maces are another heavy melee weapon, similar to Axe. Maces do slightly less damage than axes, but have tighter potential damage variance (the low end damage of maces are generally better than axes). Mace costs 6 to train / 6 to specialize. Maces have access to bludgeoning and piercing attacks at full power. Mace a fair amount of quest weapons, but most of these weapons are for low to mid levels of play, and the skill lacks in high end quest weapons.

Spears are the cheapest non-heritage weapon skill, costing 4 to train / 4 to specialize. Being cheaper, it does not inflict as much damage as Sword, Axe, or Mace. Spears can have similar top end damage to maces and spears, but come with poor variance, bringing the damage over time down. But its lower credit cost provides more skill options and faster character development. Spears are capable of piercing and slashing damage. Spear has relatively few useful quest weapons.

Staffs are basic and less powerful weapons. Staff is on the low end of damage capabilities. Staff is the free heritage weapon for Gharu'ndims, costing them no credits to train and 4 to specialize. Other heritages must pay 4 credits to train it. Loot generated staves are only cabable of bludgeoning damage. Staff has few quest weapons, and most are aimed at low and mid levels of play. Staff is generally considered the worst melee weapon. Still - it can make a useful secondary weapon, for example, a Gharu'ndim sword user may want to invest some points in staff to gain access to bludgeoning damage.

Swords are generally considered the best of the melee weapons. But it comes at a price - costing 8 to train / 8 to specialize - the highest cost of all melee weapons. Sword has access to slashing damage at full power and piercing damage at low power, with no bludgeoning - its one shortcoming. Quest swords are numerous, appear at all levels of play, and usually have decent capabilities.

Unarmed Combat weapons are light, fast, and hard hitting. While its damage is similar to dagger or staff, it has a much quicker animation, bringing its damage over time (DoT) closer to axe. Unarmed Combat (UA) is considered one of the better melee weapons, despite its low cost. It is the free heritage weapon for Sho, costing them no credits to train and 6 to specialize. Other heritages must pay 6 credits to train it. UA has many advantages. It is a cheap skill for Sho. It has the fastest attack animation. It has access to all three physical damage types. There is no animation delay when switching weapons or shields. UA has a fair amount of quest weapons at all stages of play.